Austin’s Lamb Jam

I waited all last week to attend this event. It was just as good as I had anticipated.
For a cold day, the venue was warm and inviting. We checked out the table of Lamb Jam freebies, including wine glasses to take home! Together with our friends, we tried out delicious lamb dishes from 16 local restaurants for the next few hours. My favorite dish was from Fork and Vine; they had a great staff and and spicy lamb dish that just warmed up your insides. I also loved that they had Antonellis cheese with dried lamb on top. Delish!!! Want local beer or wine? No problem– representatives from different breweries and wineries were there to pour you a variety of beverages. I mostly stuck to red to go with the lamb! Not a drinker? Cold Coffee was a huge hit to stay awake after all that lamb.
It was such a well-​done, laid-​back event! I will be back again next year. Tickets sold out way too fast so get your tickets early.

A cold wind blows east across the Colorado. It winds its way up the spire of Mount Bonnell before descending to the city below. Across the streets, through the alleyways, and past the buildings it travels until it reaches a solitary, stately edifice known as Barr Mansion. It is but another stop along its journey, but now the wind is joined by something else. As it rounds the victorian pillars of the porch and crosses the lawn, the air is filled with a joyous cacophony and a wondrous smell. The cold, crisp Austin day is cut by the sounds of revelers enjoying this year’s Austin Lamb Jam. Sixteen participating restaurants serving their finest and most creative lamb based fare. To aid in cutting the chill, standouts Dutchman Winery, Circle Brewing Company, and Hops and Grain were present serving their most delectable adult libations. Surely it was a feast for the ages. I sincerely hope that in years forth this most extraordinary and epic culinary event finds its way back to grace our fair city again. Until we meet again Lamb Jam… I bid you… Adieu…

Despite the weather, this was an incredible event (and luckily mostly indoors!). Apart from the amazing food, an insanely genius ‘Make Your Own Spice Blend’ bar to take home, and a very adorable dog dressed as a lamb (I kept joking «Hey! You missed one!») the event was filled with breathtakingly good food. I don’t think I had one dish that I didn’t like, okay, there was one that could’ve used more heat — but I like spice! Seriously though, the food was beautifully, and intelligently presented (shout out to Jack Allen’s for the perfect way to serve things at function like this: a crispy breadstick of sorts stabbed into lamb neck — no utensils required).
It took me a while to find the wine, but you couldn’t have pulled me out of the tent with a tow truck once I realized they were keeping it outside. Huddled next to space heaters with happily eating strangers was nice, and I saw half of the people I know, at least. Everyone was polite, I was never stuck waiting, and the event was more than worth it. There was even a lamb break-​down demo, but I just recently started eating things with faces, and I wasn’t ready to meet the meat. All in all, a lovely night with lovely people, and an abundance of great beer.

I’m a big fan of chef cook-​offs and any event at the beautiful Barr Mansion so when I heard Lamb Jam was coming to Austin I couldn’t wait to attend.
Overall experience was awesome. For having super chilly weather on the day of the event I thought Austin Lamb Jam did a great job keeping us as warm as they could.
Upon check-​in we received our voting ballads and a wine glass. Inside the venue we received a bag of goodies — chap-​stick, a reusable grocery bag, stickers, I love lamb pencils and I Love Lamb heat thermometer. They also had an adorable DIY spice station where you could fill a cute tin with several spices.
Most of the event took place indoors with a few (brave) vendors in the outdoor space. I love the variety of drinks offered from Paula’s Liquor, Austin’s Winery, to Hops & Grains, to Chameleon Coffee & a hydration station — with cold water. A few of my favorite lamb dishes include: Fork & Vine, Josie’s, Jacoby’s (THE WINNER!!), Odd Duck, Salty Sow just to name a few. After the event I was filled to the brim from all the savory dishes!
I hope this stellar and fun event makes it’s way back to Austin!

700^th review!
What an incredibly fun & well orchestrated event! The entry was smooth. We were swiftly given a wristband, voting sheet & wine glass. The setup for all 16 restaurants & beverages were well laid out. Whoever organized the logistics, Bravo!
I loved how accessible the chefs were during the event. They gave the run down of their dish & welcomed both questions & feedback. Each chef was given a specific theme/​region & a specific cut of meat. It was exciting to see what all 16 restaurants came up with!
Chef Kievit of Moonshine
bellied up with his dish! It was a rib & belly of IO Ranch lamb, Mole negro Oaxaqueno, almohada masa, carrot escabeche, chicharron with queso idiazabal. The lamb was tender & the flavors were a bit sweet.
Chef Jack Gilmore of Jack Allen’s Kitchen
I knew walking up to Jack Gilmore’s station my belly & taste buds would be happy. He prepared an incredibly tender meatball made with lamb neck, pierced by a delicious crunchy swizzle stick in a wonderful Nopales jam.
Chef Joe Anguiano of Vox Table
Chef Joe’s glazed lamb shank with piquillo pepper, roasted shallot & picholine olives was a great preview of what is in store.
Chef Brice Gilmore of Odd Duck/​Barley Swine
Not to be outdone by his chef father Bryce made a «Mexiterranean» lamb breakfast taco. The lamb was a rich sausage with a brightly flavored sauce. Bonus points for being the easy dish to eat.
Chef Camden Stuerzenberger of Fork & Vine
This station is where the part was at! Chris the GM of F&V made sure the chefs & his glass stayed nice & full. Chef Camden made a smoked lamb dish with aji amarillo, sopa de plantain, mole & pickled grape & chili.
Chef Mark Schmidt of the Blackbird & Henry
Chef Mark made a nicely braised shoulder stuffed with squid, roasted eggplant & ras el hanout. I loved the texture lent by the squid. This was probably the most unique dish of the evening in my opinion.
Chef Joel Welch of Kerbey Lane Café
Chef Joel stepped outside the box with his flavorful kufteh (herb & lamb meatballs) in tomato-​plum sauce with manaqui bil-​zatar (thyme bread).
Chef Phillip Brown of Vince Young Steakhouse
Chef Brown brought the savory to the table! His feast from the middle east was a stewed lamb in either a cream or yogurt sauce. It was extremely tender & well prepared.
Chef Carlos Ysaguirre of Jacoby’s Restaurant & Mercantile
Jacoby’s just added lamb to their menu a couple weeks ago so this was right up their alley! Chef Carols made an nice firm charred lamb meatball with chickpeas, drizzled with house made yogurt & the preserved lemon added a nice flavor note to the dish.
Chef Chris Hurley of Bonneville
This remarkable husband & wife duo are so kind & welcoming. I love running into them at events. They work with lamb often as they typically have 2 – 3 lamb dishes on their dinner menu. They made a perfect Korean BBQ style sparerib with a touch of pear butter.
Chef Harold Marmulstein of Salty Sow
I overheard several people raving about Chef Harold’s savory Indian lamb Curry with jasmine rice & cucumber riata including Amber D.‘s Brit (Lee).
Chef Jon Cirkiel of Olive & June
Chef made a leg of lamb pita with lots of different flavors going on (in a good way). The small hand held pita had leg of lamb, lemon ricotta, espresso, Texas green salsa verde, smoked black olives, shaved radish, turnip & carrot. If this was served at their restaurant I would undoubtedly order it.
Chef John Litchenberger of Peche
The only disappointment here is there were no French 77s to go with Chef John’s delicious lamb cassoulet.
Chef Roman Murphy of Bess Bistro
Chef Roman made one of my favorite dishes of the evening. His theme was Asian. He made a palletable lamb rillette with fermented chili & lamb caramel complimented by a carrot kimchi purée topped with sesame seeds served with a super addicting rice crisp.
Chef Kyle McClelland Proof & Pantry
This Dallas restaurant put on quite a show! They used a traditional Japanese grill in making his aromatic & warm your bones lamb belly phở.
Buenos Aires Café
Chef Watson & Chef Morris made a lamb dish swimming in lovely Mediterranean juices served in a cute day boat.
There were plenty of Texas spirits to wash down all the fabulous lamb bites. Texas beer, wine & liquor was well represented. I enjoyed the wine at Austin Winery & Duchman Winery.
By the time they announced all the winners for each category to include «Best in Show» & «Peoples Choice» the party was very festive! Jacoby’s winning both in their category & «Best in Show». Huge congrats to Adam Jacoby & Chef Carlos Ysaguirre. Chef Harold Marmulstein of Salty Sow won the crowd over with his lamb curry dish & took home the «Peoples Choice Award». Other category winners included Buenos Aires & Odd Duck.
This is one of the best food events I have attended in Austin & would definitely recommend coming if they come back to Austin. Thanks Unilocal for this amazing foodie opportunity!